Breast To Bottle

[Elvismum]

Hi all. i have a gorgeous nearly 5 mo baby girl. I have been breastfeeding fully from day one. She has slept right through the night from 7.15pm to 6.30am, and i love it. But we have so much coming up with weddings and other things, that i would like to give her a bottle of formula for her last feed at night, as i can't express. Has anyone else done this, and does it interupt the child.

I would like to continue fully breastfeeding her, as i am heading to perth just before she is 7mo, and she is coming with me. It is a 7hr flight, so i would like to have my holiday with her whilst breastfeeding. makes life easier..
any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[the_queen]

If you're giving her a formula bottle instead of a breast-feed, then your breasts will get the message that less milk is needed - ie your supply will drop. For some people, they've managed to give one formula bottle at night with no supply issues BUT there's heaps of people whose "my supply dropped so i had to switch to formula full time" stories start with "we just started giving one bottle of formula at night".
Also, just one bottle of formula will change the flora of her gut irrevocably. Breastmilk is perfectly made for babies bodies, and should be the only food given to a baby if at all possible.
Try expressing from one breast while feeding from the other - you'll probably need some help to get this working but TRUST ME it works and that way you'll have a bottle of EBM for her.

[the pero clinic]

Dear Elvismum,

This is a tricky one. Your overall supply may be affected by reducing your number of breastfeeds in a day. In terms of your baby adjusting to taking a bottle once a day, she should be able to get used to drinking from a bottle teat. My advice would be to try her with a broad-based bottle teat, and to introduce the bottle before the pressure is on for her to actually need it because you are going out.

I would, however, suggest you discuss your questions regarding your supply and expressing techniques with a lactation consultant first, so that you can keep your options open.

the pero clinic